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Murgh Makhani | मूर्घ मखनी (Butter Chicken)

Butter Chicken It is one of the best known Indian chicken food all over the world. Its gravy can be made as hot or mild as you like so it suits most palates. Butter Chicken tastes great with Naan’s , Roti’s and Rice . It can be enjoyed with sides like Raita , green chillies , onion’s and a fresh squeeze of lemon .

Regional dish : North India , Andhra Pradesh and now it is popular all over world.

Mix the chicken, lime juice, salt and red chilli powder in a large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and allow to marinate for 1 hour.

Heat a flat pan or griddle on medium heat and gently roast (stirring frequently) the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they darken slightly. Cool and add the cardamom seeds. Now grind into a coarse powder.

Mix the yoghurt, above whole spice powder (from previous step), coriander, cumin and turmeric powders together and add them to the chicken. Allow to marinate for another hour.

Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onions. Fry till a pale golden brown in color and then add the ginger and garlic pastes. Fry for a minute.

Add only the chicken from the chicken-spice mix and fry till chicken turns opaque in color.

Now add the tomato paste, chicken stock, kasuri methi and remaining part of the yogurt-spice mix to the chicken.

Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced to half its original volume.

Melt the butter in another small pan and then pour it over the chicken.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Naan or Rice..

For an authentic and traditional cooked-over-the-coals flavor: When the Butter Chicken is cooked, make a small bowl shape with aluminum foil and place it on top of the curry (‘floating’ on it). Heat a briquette of charcoal on an open flame till red hot and gently put the charcoal in to the aluminum foil bowl. Cover the dish immediately. Remove the cover just before serving, discard the foil bowl and charcoal and serve. The curry will be infused with a smokey flavor!

To make the recipe rich and creamy , one can add 2 tea spoons of heavy whipping cream or half and half milk .